Skydream Iceworm: My Bingbing!

Deep within the Star Dou Forest, a terrifying aura shot into the sky.

"What?!" Di Tian's roar made the entire Lake of Life tremble. "Damned humans!"

Towering fury burned in his golden vertical pupils. That was the Emperor Auspicious Beast, the one blessed by the fortune of the Star Dou Forest, the hope of their soul beast race—and she had actually sacrificed herself for a human?

Xiong Jun smashed the massive boulder beside him with one punch, sending shards flying everywhere.

Bi Ji covered her mouth, her eyes reddening as tears silently streamed down her face. Red King clenched his fangs tightly, a low beastly growl rolling from his throat.

In that instant, the entire Star Dou Forest plunged into fury and grief.

Only by the shore of the Lake of Life, a small beast covered in golden fur raised its head and stared blankly at the sky. It was no bigger than a puppy. The vertical eye on its forehead had yet to fully open, revealing only a thin line of gold.

Its four little hooves stood on the grass, and its tail gave a gentle wag. The light from the sky reflected in its eyes, yet it had no idea why all these adults around it were angry.

It tilted its head and let out a soft "whimper," as if asking: What are you arguing about?

Killing intent surged in Di Tian's eyes, nearly overflowing.

"Who is that human?"

"Tell me, who is that human?"

No one could answer him. The sky continued displaying its images at an unhurried pace, while he remained nothing more than a cold-eyed spectator.

Di Tian raised his head, his dragon's head held high, and unleashed a roar that shook the mountains and forest at the sky.

Countless soul beasts prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling. Even Xiong Jun did not dare lift his head.

"From this day onward, if that human takes even one step into the Star Dou Forest—no, if he appears within a hundred li of me carrying the aura of the Auspicious Beast, I will personally crush him into dust."

None of the surrounding ferocious beasts thought those words excessive. The Emperor Auspicious Beast was their hope, the chance for the entire soul beast race to rise again.

Di Tian withdrew his gaze and slowly swept it across every ferocious beast present.

"Remember what I said. Spread the word. Make every soul beast in the Star Dou Forest that has awakened its intelligence remember that person's name, that person's face, that person's aura. Once he appears—"

"No mercy."

The Silver Dragon King said nothing, tacitly approving his actions.

On the sky, Qian Renxue looked at the red-highlighted record, then turned to Yin Hongye.

"This Emperor Auspicious Beast—is that the legendary soul beast favored by the fortune of the entire continent?"

Yin Hongye nodded, his tone calm. "That's right. She embodies the fortune of the Star Dou Forest, the chosen child of fortune for the soul beast race."

He was not surprised that Qian Renxue knew of this soul beast. Even ten thousand years ago, Xuan Zi had said ancient records mentioned it. As for how ancient those records were, now that Qian Renxue had spoken of it, he roughly understood.

More than twenty thousand years, then.

Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment and lowered her head to look again at the words on the page. Emperor Auspicious Beast · Three-Eyed Golden Lion sacrificed herself.

Sacrifice.

What had that human who received her sacrifice done to make such an existence willingly sacrifice herself?

"She fell in love with a human too?"

"Yes. That's right. No soul beast that comes to the human world without taking human form can escape that rule."

"Who was he?"

"Ling Bing Douluo, Huo Yuhao."

Hearing the name, Di Tian silently memorized it. Ten thousand years later, he would kill every last one connected to it. Better to kill the wrong person than let anyone go.

"This person is..."

"The founder of the Spirit Pagoda!"

Yin Hongye answered for Qian Renxue directly. "This guy had more than one soul beast on him. He also had the Ice and Snow Empresses, two of the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North. Ten thousand years ago, they should have been a four-hundred-thousand-year soul ring and a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul ring."

Skydream Iceworm, who was still suffering at the Lake of Life and clinging to Ice Empress as his reason to survive, instantly roared:

"My Bingbing! My Bingbing! How could you become a human's soul ring?!"

Completely unaware that he had talked her into it himself.

His cry was heart-wrenching, as though both his parents had died.

The Silver Dragon King found him unbearably noisy and directly sealed his mouth.

"Shut that filthy mouth of yours and watch properly. Maybe you'll live to ten thousand years later and take revenge yourself!"

At that moment, the Far North was blanketed in wind and snow.

Ice Empress and Snow Empress stood side by side atop an ice cliff, their gazes piercing through the raging blizzard as they stared fixedly at the sky.

"A four-hundred-thousand-year and a seven-hundred-thousand-year soul ring." Ice Empress's voice was cold, as cold as the eternal ice beneath her feet. "That human named Huo Yuhao turned both of us... into soul rings?"

Snow Empress said nothing. Her white hair whipped wildly in the gale, while emotions she had never felt before churned in her ice-blue eyes.

It was a deep confusion, a complete inability to understand what had happened.

She was the ruler of the Far North, a seven-hundred-thousand-year Ice Sky Snow Woman.

She had never imagined that she would have a final destination, much less that it would be becoming a soul ring for a human soul master.

"If both Ice Empress and I were gone, what would happen to the Far North? Would only A-Tai be left guarding it?"

"Why?" Ice Empress suddenly swung a pincer. An ice blade tore through the blizzard and blasted a crack dozens of meters deep into the glacier. "We, the Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North, became soul rings for some human? Who the hell did he think he was?!"

Snow Empress spoke, her voice calm. "History does not lie."

"Do you think... we did it willingly?" Ice Empress lowered her voice.

Snow Empress did not answer, yet she seemed to have already given her answer.

Wuhun City, Papal Hall.

Bibi Dong sat upon her high seat, her slender fingers lightly tapping the armrest. Her face remained coldly beautiful and dignified, but greed flashed deep within her violet eyes.

Four hundred thousand years. Seven hundred thousand years.

Those were far more powerful than ordinary hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.

The Three Heavenly Kings of the Far North—those must have been the overlords of that northern ice plain.

She already possessed twin martial souls. If she added two soul rings of such ages, how much would her strength expand?

But clearly, she had overestimated herself and underestimated the strength of those two Heavenly Kings.

On the sky, Yin Hongye continued, "After the Emperor Auspicious Beast sacrificed herself, Beast God Di Tian launched a beast tide. It was the largest-scale soul beast uprising in the ten thousand years that followed. The entire continent felt the wrath of the Star Dou Forest."

Qian Renxue frowned. "He launched a war over one sacrifice?"

"In Di Tian's eyes, she wasn't merely a soul beast." Yin Hongye looked at her. "She was the hope of the entire soul beast race."

Mu Hongchen did not feel much about it. "Indeed. With the fortune of the Star Dou Forest gathered upon her, how could they not be angry?"

"Exactly. After that, didn't the soul beast race begin declining rapidly?" Yin Hongye thought over the history, then smiled faintly.

"Now they only have such a tiny area left. And since Ice Empress and Snow Empress weren't there, my judgment was correct. There probably weren't many soul beasts left in the Far North either."

"The Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters was in the Far North."

Snow Empress froze upon hearing those words.